Most played rivalry: 53 meetings with East dating back to 1955. Olympus leads 27-24-2.

Felt’s Factoid(s): Olympus holds the championship-game record for most takeaways. The Titans recovered four fumbles and intercepted seven passes (also a state title-game record) in capturing the 1984 Class 4A title over Alta.

Note: Olympus finished with a 10-2 overall record in 2013 and tied for first in Region 7 with a 5-1 record. It lost to East 47-21 in the 4A semifinals.

HOLLADAY — Olympus, Orem and Corner Canyon all earned a share of the Region 7 championship last season. A year later, Olympus undoubtedly has the toughest path to repeat as region champions.

While Corner Canyon returns virtually every starter, and Orem returns roughly half, the Titans begin the 2014 season with a slew of unproven players all over the field.

“There’s no question about it, and we don’t mind being under the radar. We’d like all the attention to go to Corner Canyon and Orem,” said Whitehead. “We have a challenge in front of us, there’s no doubt about it.”

It’s one everyone is excited about embracing.

When Whitehead was named head coach prior to the 2011 season, he laid down a pretty clear mission statement for the program: Region championships would become the norm, as would playing up at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Last season Olympus met those expectations, earning a share of the league title and then advancing to the 4A semifinals with a pair of playoff road victories.

Regardless of player turnover, the goal this year is to do it again.

“There’s absolute excitement. This is a group that’s eager to leave their own legacy. We have a long ways to go,” said Whitehead.

From position to position Whitehead said this year’s team is solid, but there’s not necessarily someone that jumps out like crazy.

Defensively, this year’s group has a lot to live up to.

Olympus was one of the best teams in 4A last season, with few teams moving the ball effectively against its first-team defense. In the semis, East of course moved the ball with relative ease, but heading into that game the Titans had only allowed 16.9 ppg.

Whitehead believes that a “nasty” D-line this season has Olympus positioned for another excellent defensive season.

Between Jeff Day, Tyler Ringwood and Mason Draper, Whitehead said this year’s defensive line is “as good as what I’ve had since I’ve been at Olympus.”

Draper is the heart of that defensive line. In fact, Whitehead said part of that stems from last year’s quarterfinal playoff win over Logan.

With Olympus leading 23-21 and roughly 10 seconds remaining, Olympus all-state defensive lineman Jeff Faletoi was forced to sit out a play because his helmet fell off the previous play. With Logan one completion away from getting into field-goal range, Draper came in for Faletoi and recorded the game-clinching sack.

Those are the types of plays Whitehead expects to be the norm this season.

On the offensive side of the ball, big things are expected from new quarterback Zack Hodgson and running backs JoJo Henderson and Elias Falk.

Whitehead dubbed Falk a throw-back player to an era gone by, a three-sport athlete who excels in football, basketball and baseball. It’s still the norm in rural 3A and 2A schools, but it’s certainly uncommon in 4A programs.

He’ll be a two-way starter for the Titans at running back and safety, and is a hard runner who could have a big season.

With only two returning starters on the offensive line, there are definitely question marks heading into the season — and particularly a Week 1 test against Cottonwood’s superb defensive line certainly won’t be easy.

James Edward is a sports writer at the Deseret News, serving as the prep editor and Real Salt Lake beat writer. A graduate of the University of Utah in 1998, he has been a full-time sports writer of the Deseret News since more ..